From Mohan (in China on the border) to Luang NamTha. 60 easy kms. Leaving Mohan you immediately pass through the departure office of the China customs. Some kms further ther is the Lao immigation office. The contrast is big: from the nice and clean town of MoHan you stop at a muddy field for a small office and a red and white iron bar across the road. The visa were given readily; a stamp in our passports for a 30 days stay in exchange for some paperwork. a pass photo and 36 USdollars. Normal fee is 35, but today was saturday, so 1 USD extra. Of course, sounds logic. The Lao people are known for their kindness, and indeed within 5 minutes we scored our first "Sabaidee!!"

Some 20 kms further there was the junction where we had to go left. How easy, there are road signs, and they are clear, so no doubt at all where we were. At the junction we met Bruce Bokor from Tasmania, Australia. He was biking on his own, had started in Chang Mai in Thailand and was now heading for Yunnan. We gave him two of our maps in exhange for a round a coffee. Indeed, we could buy coffee in a stall along the road. A real blessing after six and a half weeks with hardly any coffee.

Luang NamTha appaered to be a tourist town to be. Some bars, restaurants and internetcaf’e’s. We ended up in a nice and quiet guesthouse, Adounsiri guesthouse, where we booked 2 nights.